Kamoa Koa Tenor

Oh, I forgot to say that this was from the new ukuleleuprising site. Swell place!
 
I have seen and played those Kamoa Koa tenors first hand. The good first. They sound pretty impressive and the playability off the wall is pretty good. Probably because Sam sets them up ready to go. They look amazing hanging on the wall at Larry's as the finish he uses is very glossy. However, when you have the instrument in your hand, the story changes. The varnish in the headstock leaves much to be desired and the two tenors i looked at was uneven and in come cases didn't even cover the entire head. You will notice that where the neck joins the body that there is some glue residue that wasn't entirely wiped away before the laquer was sprayed. You will not mistake the craftsmanship for a Kamaka or Kanilea that is for sure. In my opinion $525 is kind of steep for the kind of craftsmanship I saw. $525 might be a good price for a full Koa ukulele, but $525 is still a lot of money and I would expect more for that kind of price. I do admit that the sound the uke generates is pretty good though. Nice instrument, but $525? I don't think I would pay that
 
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The rule is that if it doesn't say solid, you can be pretty sure it is laminate. It sounds pretty mellow thought, I am surprised, I'd like to play it in person.

They do have it listed in their Solid Koa catagory though.
 
Aloha

Kamoa Koa concert and tenor are solid wood Koa Body with Mahogany neck. Thanks for your questions .
 
Ah, hmm, well I am dumb. I'm surprised by the price then.

I was fooled by the listing as well. The price doesn't surprise me that much. Aren't they imports?
 
Maybe it would be a good idea to include in the description that is it solid again, because I think many of us are trained to the point where we are used to feeling like were being "tricked" into thinking ukes are something they are not. Just a thought =) Do you see many solid koa bodies for 6? I try not to look at ukes too often (I still look at them quite a bit), because I can't afford to get any more haha.
 
I have seen and played those Kamoa Koa tenors first hand. The good first. They sound pretty impressive and the playability off the wall is pretty good. Probably because Sam sets them up ready to go. They look amazing hanging on the wall at Larry's as the finish he uses is very glossy. However, when you have the instrument in your hand, the story changes. The varnish in the headstock leaves much to be desired and the two tenors i looked at was uneven and in come cases didn't even cover the entire head. You will notice that where the neck joins the body that there is some glue residue that wasn't entirely wiped away before the laquer was sprayed. You will not mistake the craftsmanship for a Kamaka or Kanilea that is for sure. In my opinion $525 is kind of steep for the kind of craftsmanship I saw. $525 might be a good price for a full Koa ukulele, but $525 is still a lot of money and I would expect more for that kind of price. I do admit that the sound the uke generates is pretty good though. Nice instrument, but $525? I don't think I would pay that

Question: did you try to buy one of the kamoas or were you just looking at them?

I ask this because we've spent an exorbitant amount of time at Larry's the past 2 weeks and more than once I've seen Sam snatch ukuleles out of peoples hands if he thought they were not good enough. For example, there was someone there a few days ago who wanted to buy a Kamoa Mahogany tenor, and he took not one but 2 ukes out of their hands because he felt there was a better one in the shop (one had a buzz and the other had a blemish). He doesn't sell the ones he thinks aren't up to snuff, he actually takes them off the wall when they're discovered. So if you were just looking, yeah you may have seen one with a defect, but he wouldn't let you buy it. He's a humble guy so he's never going to say that but I figure I may as well jump in and add my $0.02.
 
Rayan,
There was no string buzz or anything wrong with the playability of the koa tenor ukes I played. In fact, Sam let me play two different ones just to see if I liked one over the other. Playability was actually quite nice, and they had a nice sound. I only pointed out the craftsmanship because I thought the orignial poster may be on the mainland and Kamoas are only available at Larry's. Just wanted to shed some first hand neutral insight.
And yes, I agree with you, Larry is accomodating and pleasant to everyone, buying, browing, beginner, advanced.
 
I wish they made some baritones, I might buy a lower end baritone if it sounded as decent as their pineapple and soprano for the price
 
Kamoa Koa Wood

Hi Everyone, I read the questions about the Kamoa Koa Tenor and would clarify for everyone.

1) It is solid wood...there is no veneer used in this model. our veneers are all under $199

2) The redisue someone commented on is not under the finish it is on the finish and, I wipe it away when I hand inspect the ukes. The details are actually very nice, closer to what yu would pay a grand for. I am "live" each day quality checking instrument and preparing them for sale. Not every one on the wall is checked so I try to assist customers by showing them the one's I have ready....when you "help yourself" in my store you could be inspecting something I haven't checked in yet so let me help you and you will benefit.

3) I do not release any uke that does not pass my strict tests, I back up every sale with an unconditional moneyback gurantee. I test it based on many years of experience for each and every customer.

Aloha,

Samuel
 
Kauai808;356301Just wanted to shed some first hand [B said:
neutral[/B] insight.
And yes, I agree with you, Larry is accomodating and pleasant to everyone, buying, browing, beginner, advanced.

For sure. Thing I just wanted to clear up was cleared up by Sam above me. Even if all the wall ones aren't checked yet, all ukes are checked before they leave the store meaning no one will end up with one that has those problems you were talking about. I would have jumped in and want to reassure our community if the comment was about MGM, or any other quality uke store I know take care of their customers.
 
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Exactly Ryan, I can't gurantee every ukulele I receive will be free of imperfections, I can only gurantee they won't be sold to the community/world. To be quite honest everyone is entitled to their opinion, but few people in this forum has quality tested several thousand of ukuleles like me and my perception is that this Koa Kamoa uke is well worth the $500. Quite to the contrary, I have rejected over 15 Island Ukuleles which cost on average $1,500-$3,000 each. My commitment to excellence is way above the bar.

Aloha
My Best
Samuel
 
Exactly Ryan, I can't gurantee every ukulele I receive will be free of imperfections, I can only gurantee they won't be sold to the community/world. To be quite honest everyone is entitled to their opinion, but few people in this forum has quality tested several thousand of ukuleles like me and my perception is that this Koa Kamoa uke is well worth the $500. Quite to the contrary, I have rejected over 15 Island Ukuleles which cost on average $1,500-$3,000 each. My commitment to excellence is way above the bar.

Aloha
My Best
Samuel

E-mailed and trusted you to choose a nice Kamaka for me.
Very pleased with the gorgeous highly figured Kamaka soprano you chose for me, the fast shipping, and the quick response to my follow up questions regarding strings, tuners etc.

All the best
 
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